Change of Heart
by Krystalicekitsu
Summary: The battle is over and Inuyasha has one choice left.
1. Fork in the Road

**waa, this is the first story i've put up on. i'm so happy! this is almost completely speculitive as i've no idea if the series has even gone this far and i've certainly not seen it (and i dont want spoilers!!! so DONT tell me!).**

**i must point out that my decision to make Sesshoumaru ally comes with my belief that he was training Inuyasha in his own very unorthadox way by being such an ass to him all the time. also, there will be no Rin/Sesshomaru romance. i find that pairing somewhat disturbing. but there will be at least a _little_ Inuyasha/Kagome.**

**Disclaimer: I no own, you no sue.**

* * *

"You're sure about this, Inuyasha? Once done, the Shikkon no Tama will disappear; there is nothing strong enough to change you back." 

The hanyou closed his eyes and nodded, shifting around in the weights and seals plastered to his body.

The group had finally defeated Naraku a month ago, or so. There were casualties, most notably being half or so of the village that had served as home to the travelers between escapades. Kaede had been among the victims, falling to the golem Naraku had sent to wipe out the group's support.

Miroku's mischievous tanuki friend, Tachi, had also fallen, attempting to save little Shippo. The fox kit had survived the battle, only to leave the group to study under Kouga, who, surprisingly had grown faster without the help of his Shikkon shards, and seemed to actually respect the kitsune. This probably had more than a little to do with the fox using all his magic to the last to protect the wolf prince and his tribe after Naraku took the wolf's shards. Though still scared of Inuyasha, the kit had matured much since the final battle.

Kikyo had not lasted the battle through, using the rest of her spiritual powers to transfer her soul to a dieing Kagome, so that the younger miko might live to save Inuyasha and 'make him happy'.

Sango had made it though, and was pleased that her brother was alive. Why this happened was still a source of much debate among the travelers. After Naraku had taken the last shard from Kohaku, he had died again. Sesshomaru had then revived him using his father's sword, the Tenseiga. This was the how. The fact that remained unknown was why.

The demon hunters were currently living at the shrine, which was under Miroku's care until another miko could be found. Kagome and Inuyasha were also the monk's guests, though the latter spent more time outside than in.

After the battle, and Naraku's ensuing defeat, the group had returned with the completed Shikkon no Tama with the job of rebuilding. The issue of the jewel had remained on hold, strung around Kagome's neck, until two weeks after their victory, when the village had been put to rights.

At the end of that time, Kagome had handed the younger inu brother the jewel with a smile, telling him to make his choice. She would understand his choice either way and would still be by his side. He'd stared at her, holding the jewel, then nodded and went to the forest to think.

The end of the week had come, and brought with it a resolved Inuyasha.

Miroku sighed, "Very well then, Inuyasha. Kagome?"

The miko nodded and hesitantly stepped forwards until she stood in front of the hanyou, her priestess robes rustling. She took the jewel from her neck and unthreaded it as Miroku was speaking, "Kagome will place the jewel in your mouth, Inuyasha. Once she does, the rest is your choice. You can stay with this path or choose the other. But once your decision is made you must be clear. Think your choice in your head and bite through the jewel. You will only be able to break it if your wish is truly what you want and the Tama is used by your wish. Other wise, you're more likely to get a toothache than anything…"

Kagome smiled lightly at the monks mutterings. She looked up, meeting eyes with Inuyasha before placing the pink jewel in his mouth and stepping back.

Inuyasha looked back at her slightly sad face, doubting his choice. But then he remembered all the times he wasn't able to protect her and his resolve hardened. His brother had been adamant that if he failed to protect the miko, he would hunt the hanyou down, for inu youkai were known for their loyalty, and Kagome had earned his by saving Rin's life at great risk to her own.

His brother had been equally adamant that if his choice warranted it, he would be there to help.

Inuyasha spared a glance at the seated figure in the corner, amazed at the fact his brother was smiling, if only slightly, at the young human girl in his arms. His musings earned him a flash of gold and a mental brush that felt like a 'get on with it'.

Closing his eyes, the hanyou gathered his thoughts focusing them onto one point, one desire.

Then he bit.

* * *

There was a blinding flash of light, starting violet then blazing white as the powers sealed in the Shikkon no Tama were released into the world for the last time. 

Inuyasha grunted in pain as he felt his muscles and bones tear, break, shift and then reform. His world started to go dark and dim til he could no longer touch the surface of conscious thought. He realized with a shock that he had been pushed to a corner of his own mind.

_Wh-what?! What the hell? I'm trapped?!_

He was vaguely aware of Kagome's sweet, fresh scent getting stronger and closer, and hear her voice as if through cloth, "Inuyasha? Are you ok? Did it work?"

He was shocked to the core as he heard his own voice, slightly deeper and more raw, answer back, "sure, 'Gome. I'm here. I'll always be here…."

His head lifted.

* * *

Kagome put her hands up to shield her eyes, remembering only after the light was gone that she had a long miko robe that would have worked much better than her hand to block the light. She blinked away the dark spots from her vision only to gasp in shock at the white haired figure in front of her. She sighed as she realized his choice, watching his trade mark ears sticking from his mane flick at the sound. 

She glanced at Sesshomaru, relieved if only slightly to see the minute frown lines around his eyes and mouth. He looked up at her and nodded fractionally towards his half brother.

The miko nodded and licked her lips nervously, before approaching the seated figure in red robes, "Inuyasha? Are you ok? Did it work?"

His answer unnerved her as well as his brother, who stood up, after depositing Rin on the floor, and drew Tokijin.

She had never heard him call her by any nick-name, other than 'wench', and his general tone of voice just seemed…wrong.

His head lifted as she gasped in fear. His golden eyes were red again and his pupils had become purple. He had gained a thin half circle mark on his forehead that reminded Kagome of the moon as it struggled to hold on to it's light. The faint blue lines on his cheeks had revealed themselves again and his eye shape had narrowed and thinned out, making him look much more like his brother. His smirk had become a sneer that changed to a snarl as he lunged at her.

Sesshomaru moved faster than his brother's increased speed, parrying aside the youkai's claws with Tokijin as he used his new arm to pull Kagome out of the way.

Demon Inuyasha fell to the floor heavily as Miroku responded to the danger by activating the binding charms plastered to the younger inu brother. They had decided to leave his mouth unbound, from which was currently spewing liberal amounts of insults and graphic threats, "You sons of bitches, damned mother fucking whores! Let me go you assholes, or I swear, I'll skin you alive!..."

After releasing Kagome, Sesshomaru turned to his younger brother and looked down at him with a haughty look, "And how do you purpose to do that, brother? You cannot even sit up."

With a snarl, demon Inuyasha forced himself to his knees and attempted to stand only to be brought down again by Kagome, who had regained enough sense to step in.

"SIT!"

The string of curses against Sesshomaru's mother and choice of bed partners stopped in mid-rant as the demon's face met floor.

The taiyoukai looked over at the miko in complete seriousness, "How many times a day can you perform that spell?"

Said miko blinked, "Um… as many as I want. Why?"

An eyebrow twitched, "…he's annoying."

* * *

A pain-filled groan came from the pair's feet as Inuyasha regained consciousness, "Kagome…? Why does my head hurt?" 

Kagome blinked at the question, then stared as he raised his face. His eyes were back to normal, other than their shape, and the small half circle on his forehead had resolved into a clear crescent shape, like that of his older brother's. The stripes on his face had also calmed down, loosing their ragged look and sliming to thin lines. All in all, he looked much more controlled, and very regal, not to mention handsome.

"I-Inuyasha?" Kagome almost cried in relief as he looked groggily at her. "Are you alright? Are you…" she trailed off nervously.

"…you're annoying, dimwitted self?" his brother monotoned.

Inuyasha growled at his brother, his eyes flashing red as he struggled to stand up, "….b-bas…tard…"

The taiyoukai just looked down at the struggling form. Inuyasha eventually gave up, finding his body weakening, which didn't make sense. Hadn't he become a full demon? Shouldn't he be much stronger than he was as a hanyou, not weaker?

He grunted in pain and put a hand to his head as his temples started to throb, "d-…damnit…"

The next thing he knew, he was stuck back in that little corner of his mind as his body started to curse out his own brother and his-….er, Kagome.

* * *

Kagome took a step back in shock as Inuyasha suddenly stopped clutching his own head and looked up with red eyes again. 

"You… you stupid wench! Get these damned charms off me! Mother fucking bastards…!", he took a swing at her with his claws not getting very much distance or length because of said charms.

"Err… I think not…" the miko was starting to panic. What was with the mood swings? She got even more paranoid as a thought crossed her mind. Was this second personality Naraku?!

She remembered the final blow to the dark hanyou clearly…

FLASHBACK

Naraku laughed evilly at the inu brothers' struggles. They had figured out that Naraku was venerable to both Tenseiga and Tensaiga and that the brothers' attacks in tandem were more affective than by themselves.

Naraku had realized they had realized this and they knew he had… figured it out as well ( you though I was gonna say it again!). So, while the inu hanyou and the taiyoukai tried to land synchronized blows, the demon had used Kanna's recently re-absorbed powers to reflect their attacks back at each other.

"Give up!" Naraku hissed, as he deflected another _Kaze no Kizu_ at the Lord of the Western Lands.

He gasped in pain and shock as a holy arrow dissolved his right arm, glad he had the Shikkon no Tama around his neck. He glared at the robed figure, expecting to see his infatuation but shocked to see the reincarnation struggling to her feet. He grimaced in pain and irritation. Hadn't he seen Kagura kill the miko a short time before?

---

Inuyasha started as Naraku's arm was dissolved, immediately recognizing the shine of a holy arrow. Kikyo!

But, as he turned to the figure to confirm he was shocked to see Kagome struggle to her feet, her red and white miko robes saturated with blood. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye then purposely locked eyes with the demon after repeating the procedure with his elder brother, "What's the matter Naraku? You were never this weak before!"

She readied another arrow, her form tall and proud as she glared at the dark hanyou that had caused her friends such pain. Sango had been dealt a painful blow to the abdomen and had to retreat, Miroku soon following as he was swept across the back by Naraku's claws.

She glared at him and let her arrow fly, a small smirk gracing her lips as she watched it connect with his right hip, purifying his flesh and removing half his form. His remaining tentacles twitched in pain and he sat panting on the ground as blood oozed from his wounds. He glared up at her and she put all of her rage, hurt and loathing of him onto her face just as Inuyasha struck.

Inuyasha came in quick from the right; glad his brother had helped him increase his speed. He readied his newest attack, designed to rip the soul from the body so that his brother might shred it with the Tenseiga.

He could sense it, from much practice with Sesshomaru, the place where Naraku's soul started to ebb away, where it met with the barrier that would dissolve when his soul was ready to go to the next world.

Aiming for that place, he hurled his special attack at the gate, smashing it, "_Reikon no Kizu_!"

He watched in a kind of sadistic glee as he saw the dark hanyou's eyes widen at his attack's name before loosing their look of life. His job done, he jumped out of the way as his brother rushed in, Tenseiga ready.

One swift cut and it was over.

The chain around Naraku's neck broke and the Shikkon no Tama bounced along the ground, glowing blue, to land neatly at Kagome's feet.

Eyebrows furrowed in confusion and exhaustion, she bent down and picked the jewel up. The Tama purified instantly at her touch, and she struggled to stand, her legs falling out from under her. Inuyasha rushed forwards and caught her, his golden eyes radiating worry…

END FLASHBACK

Had Naraku been able to transfer his soul to the Tama before Sesshomaru's attack? Was that why Inuyasha now had such violent mood swings? Kagome thought back, trying to differentiate between Inuyasha's previous transformations and this final one.

That didn't make sense at all… in his previous transformations Inuyasha had been violent to the point of psychosis. Now he was just violent and loud, not crazed.

She then compared his bad side to Naraku's personality. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Well that didn't make any sense either. Naraku wasn't openly violent, preferring to use others to do his dirty work rather than get his own hands dirty. This new personality was openly insulting and course, rubbing everyone the wrong way, another thing Naraku wasn't. Naraku used subtle insults, more taunting than true insults in fact, and Kagome had rarely heard him swear.

She shook her head. Besides, it didn't make sense for Naraku to reveal that he wasn't Inuyasha like this but not reveal his identity.

Kagome sighed, glad that Inuyasha wasn't being possessed by Naraku's soul but also disheartened that she could think of no other explanation.

The miko was started out of her musings as Miroku called her and the taiyoukai over to the corner he inhabited. The monk looked between the two, momentarily at a loss for words. Kagome noticed he was rubbing his right hand nervously, a habit he had acquired since the loss of the wind tunnel.

Sesshomaru broke the silence between the three, speaking slightly louder so that his voice would carry over that of his younger brother's, "miko, would you kindly subdue Inuyasha?"

Kagome cocked her head at him, then realized what he meant and mumbled an affirmative before "SIT"ing Inuyasha.

Miroku started again, "I have no idea what's wrong with Inuyasha. Do either of you have a clue?"

Sesshomaru looked thoughtful but then glanced purposefully at Kagome. Following the taiyoukai's gaze, the monk also stared at the miko. Kagome, who had been lost in thought, looked up and realized they were both staring at her, "….what?"

Sesshomaru leaned in closer and studied her before pulling back again, "you have thought of something."

She blinked. It had only been a passing thought, really, but she supposed she wouldn't be left alone until the youkai lord got an answer, "well… I was just thinking about the other times he transformed to a full youkai… I mean, then he was crazed; he wouldn't listen to reason, he just killed everything. But that doesn't make sense because … well… I mean, you don't have any desire to suddenly start killing us do you, Sesshomaru?"

The taiyoukai just looked at her.

"Erm, for the sake of my sanity and my argument I'm going to say that was a 'no', ok?"

Still no response.

"O….kay…. so, back to my thoughts. Why was only Inuyasha crazy? I think, and this is only a theory so it's not perfect, that Inuyasha being a hanyou kinda… screwed with his personality. He basically had two sides, like a yin and yang. In his hanyou form he was both aggressive and sweet, all though it seems that he was more aggressive than nice, but that could be because of his past, so never mind. But in his human form he was gentle and kind, physically unable to cause much harm and mentally he found violence less appealing. But in his full youkai form, he was…well, you know. So I'm thinking that his human side took all his peaceful tendencies from his youkai side and his youkai side stole all his rage, anger and bloodlust from his human side."

Miroku nodded and even the taiyoukai made a small noise of agreement, "that makes sense, Kagome. But what about now? Shouldn't he be just like other youkai now that he no longer has a human side?"

Kagome hesitated, "well… like I said, I'm just speculating here but, what if… what if all that anger that he locked away changed his personality when he became full youkai? I mean, when he was a hanyou, all his rage was locked away in his youkai side, only coming out to defend his life. That's a lot of hate stored for a long time. He'd be much more used to his emotions, seeing as how he's been human once a month for his entire life…"

Sesshomaru lifted an eyebrow; this was curious.

Kagome didn't notice and continued right on, "… but all that rage was only released, what? Four, five times at most? He wouldn't have any idea how to control it. It would control him. Fortunately, it seems his human side's removal has calmed his rage down some. At least now he'll talk."

She took a deep breath; they were not going to enjoy her next suggestion, "I think we have to get him used to his anger. Let him learn how to control it and help him integrate it into his personality without using it as often."

Miroku looked at her in suspicion, "and how do we do that, Kagome?"

Said miko gulped and looked down at her feet, "Wehavetolethimoutandtalktohimunitlhecalmsdown."

The monk and the taiyoukai blinked at the young time-traveler. Surely not…

Kagome looked up hesitantly to be met by twin incredulous looks. Sesshomaru said what they both had thought, "surely not. He would attack us the moment he was free. And we would only end up killing him."

"We must not attack him. It's absolutely vital that we do nothing to provoke him. It's the only way he'll calm down." The miko said determinedly.

The two males stared at her. They glanced at each other then back at the miko, then turned their gazes to the pile of red and silver on the floor. Miroku turned around first, "ok, Kagome. We'll try this. But I'm not taking the charms off, I'll just deactivate them."

Kagome nodded happily. She was sure this would work.

* * *

**soooooooooo... yes, i'm sure you all noticed that this needs some revision. and i'm acctually getting pretty far on the second chapter. pretty far. anyway, i'm looking for beta's if i didn't already say that. for this and my 'Shinigami Chornicles' Bleach fanfic that i just put up. if anyone's interested, send an em adress, and i'll send _you_ the rough versions of the stories. please make any changes in red or another color font so i can read it. also, i have micorsoft word 2003, so make sure you have a document reading program that will support .doc files.**


	2. Path Least Taken

**eek. nearly half a year. i'm so, SO sorry guys. but better late than never, right? heh...**

* * *

Inuyasha woke up slowly, noticing first that he wasn't in the main shrine room anymore, but somewhere underground, judging from the damp, earthy smell. The second thing he noticed was that his mind was once again his. The third observation was accompanied by slight relief and also worry: the charms had been removed. The last thing he noticed was the cause of his worry, and this thing happened to be the sight of Kagome sitting next to him, sleeping lightly against one of the wood covered walls. 

She was dozing lightly, and someone had wrapped a blanket loosely around her shoulders. The necklace that the Shikon no Tama had been strung on was dangling lightly from the one hand that wasn't under the blanket.

Inuyasha sat up slowly, afraid that any movement would wake the peacefully slumbering miko, noticing the purple robe that had been covering him only as it fell from his shoulders. Hn, it seemed that the monk had been here. The dog youkai sniffed, and sure enough, the faint smell of incense and ginger wafted around the small room, in just the same mixture that hung around the houshi.

Getting up off the futon that he had been laying on was more difficult than sitting up (Kagome had one of her legs stretched out over the end of the bed), but he managed and began investigating the room.

It was small and not normally used, as evident by the musty, stale air. There was a set of stairs a little bit back from the center of the room, but these he ignored; there wasn't a scent of blood in the room, either new or old, so he had no pressing desire to get out.

He placed a clawed hand against the walls, noting that he had been correct, the soft dirt was damp and smooth, as clay was. The only thing that was man-made was the ceiling above, which, he supposed, was actually the floor of the building above.

Done with his observation of the immediate area, he walked behind the stairs, noting several containers that, when opened, revealed scrolls, powdered incense and extra oil pans (like those used for early lamps, yo?). He snorted; oh yes, most definitely a shrine.

He headed back over to the tatami mat he had been spread out on and sat down, intending to have a long hard thought about all this.

He ran a hand through long white hair as he pondered. The first thing he did was recount the experiences he had gone though after biting the Jewel. From his painful transformation and his attempted attack on Kagome (here he winced), through his forced 'SIT' and subsequent loss of consciousness, he pondered. Why, _why_ had he gone, well… _psycho_?

Kagome and the other's had explained to him, after the sword maker rambled, that his demon blood reacted to a threat provided against his life and took over. They said he showed markings that his brother showed just before transforming and then he killed anything that was in his path.

He sighed and ran a hand absently through his hair again, '_damn I wish I had a mirror…_'

He had always been curious, ever since the first time it had happened, what he looked like when he had transformed. Then he learned about how his transformations would slowly eat away his soul, and the curiosity faded to a small wonder in the back of his thoughts that he would occasionally take out and explore. He knew what Sesshoumaru looked like when he transformed, and he had memories of his father, albeit vague and sometimes foggy memories. When times during the journey got difficult he would take them out and play with them, changing the color of the marks on his face, drawing in the dirt with a claw tip to make his markings change shape and design.

Now he finally had an answer and there wasn't a mirror in sight. How ironic.

But where the hell was everybody else? Here he was, locked in a room (well, he assumed he was locked…) with a sleeping Kagome, when he had probably spent about ten minutes giving her death threats. Why would they trust him? Moreover, why would _she_ trust him?

…

But then again… she always trusted him, didn't she? He thought on that. Yes, she always trusted him. Even from the beginning, when they fought Yura of the Hair, she trusted him to keep her safe when she had no reason to. She trusted him to keep her safe, and he had done so. A few times he had felt he had failed her, but she had always reassured him that no one could be everywhere and know everything and that the fact that she was still alive and that he had saved her meant that he _hadn't_ failed her.

He glanced over at her as she stirred in her sleep, half mumbling something vague but demanding.

He smiled softly at that. She was always demanding. Gentle but wanting everyone around her to stand up for themselves, to be the most they could be, despite what the rest of the world wanted, or thought, about them.

He sighed and reached over to wake her, glad that at least someone was here to answer his questions. As he reached out, his sleeve drew back and he frowned as he caught a hint of blue at his wrist. Turning his arm, he saw a blue strip running from the outside of his wrist to stop a few inches from his elbow.

Shrugging it off he grasped the miko's shoulder with one hand and began to shake her gently, "Kagome, hey, get up."

She stirred gently, mumbling incoherent denials in her sleep, eliciting a small smile from the demon, "come on, wake up Kagome. You can't sleep all day. Or night, or whatever," he trailed off, really not knowing how long he'd been asleep.

She murmured in her sleep again, pulling a frown that was still more sleep that wakeful, "f-five… more minutes mom…."

The smile turned dry, "nope, sorry Kagome; no more five minutes."

The miko snuggled further into the blanket, "commo' m'm… don' be me'n… sound… lik'…inu..y-yasha…"

Well, that got a frown. '_Mean'? She doesn't know what 'mean' is._ "Higurashi Kagome, you're gonna miss your test," he said flatly.

"WHAT?!" that got a response. He had the miko up and out of bed before she'd fully opened her eyes. She turned to the left and stumbled into the wall, flinging the blanket over inuyasha's head in her haste.

The inu youkai stayed under the blanket she had so kindly provided him with long enough to get his snickering under control. By the time he crawled out, she was positively fuming. Arms crossed, she towered over his sitting form and he could swear that there were flames in her eyes.

"I. Nu. Ya. Sha," positively spat out his name, each syllable punctuated with a step closer to him.

"Not. Funny," the last two words were accentuated with her finger jabbing into his chest.

He blinked up at her innocently, trying oh so very hard to keep the self incriminating grin off his face and only in his mind, "what?"

* * *

**sorry this ch's so short. i almost didn't finish it this way, but i thought it through and decided that doing it this way would better get my point across than just flat out telling you guys in an A/N, but i'm going to end up explaining it anyways, so, whatever. **

**basicaly, inuyasha's just had all his emotions released, well all his violent emotions and all his 'tickely, teasing, "teehee"' emotions. it's like a person who was born deft being able to suddenly hear and talking non-stop or walking around with a CD player blaring music 24/7. some of the words might not be pronounced right, and some of the music played might be a little hard on the ears, but how's a deft person supposed to know?**

**so, inuyasha doesn't know how to control his emotions, and he's gonna seem a little OOC for a bit. that is, untill- /clamps hands over mouth/ oops! cant say. but i think it IS safe to say that it'll be happening in the next few chapters, if not the next one.**

**and i do apologize that there was a lot on inuyasha inner diolouge, but i wanted to show him in a different light. it's my belief that he wasn't stupid; he just lacked some of the social context for some of what he was put through. so i showed him using his brain to think some things through.**

**and a BIG HUMONGOUS Thank You to bankotsu'chic who was my first reviewer on this fic and my first reviewr EVER/tears of gratitude/ Thank you so much!**


	3. Duels and Summons

**yeah, really _really_ sorry about the late update! but at least i got it in before the 30th, right? heh heh... anyway, yeah i know this story is a full page short. and i'm sorry. really, i am. i even _wanted_ it to be longer. but the next scene is about four pages long, and i dont want to chapters that eratic. so, sorry. really truely. the next update wont be for at _least_ two weeks. maybe less if i have a good day. probably more cause i just started school. and japanese. i love my class. tomorrow i have choir/squeel/ i love choir.**

**disclaimer: usual stuff, like 'i dont own', 'no money gained', etc...**

**warning: but i do own. just not inuyasha. so, NO STEALING!!!!!**

**or i will send zombie!naraku after you.**

**PS-oh, btw, i'm working on two Fullmetal Alchemist PWP and a Naruto PWP staring our favorite perverted jounin.**

* * *

It didn't take long for Kagome to calm down, although it probably would have gone faster if Inuyasha hadn't continued to bring up the fact that she ran right into a wall. After she had counted to ten, and Inuyasha had eaten dirt, they both sat in silence, pondering their own ponderings. 

It might have even been a comfortable silence, provided that Kagome hadn't kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye since he caught her flat out staring. The inu youkai sighed as her eyes flicked to him again, "Hey, Kagome?"

She startled slightly, "Um… yes?"

He turned to face her, "Do you happen to have a mirror?"

The miko blinked, "uh…"

"Cause, ya know, I've been tryin to see my reflection in your eyes, but you don't stare at me long enough for me to get much more than vague color streaks."

She blushed –rather prettily, he thought- at that and stammered an affirmative before getting to her feet and telling him to wait. Up the stairs, a knock and she was in the world above, where ever that was.

The light let down from the opening was lamp-light, so he still didn't have a good idea what time it was, but the accompanying breeze brought a faint hint of dogwood blossoms. Kagome, when she returned, held a small hand mirror and a wrapped bundle that smelled tantalizingly of manjuu. She glanced up through the doorway as if someone were talking to her, and responded. Inuyasha was much surprised when he didn't have to concentrate at all to pick up the conversation:

"Are you sure, Kagome-sama? I could just as easily-"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure. He's already awake anyways, so it wouldn't make any sense at this point."

A sigh, "very well then. But do be careful."

The door shut and robes rustled as the time-traveling-reincarnated-priestess-girl bounded down the stairs. She went straight to the small sleeping mat and deposited the bundle he was currently drooling after and handed him the mirror. He took it, face down, and hesitated. This had been such a big question for him for as long as he could remember. His mother had once commented a long time ago that he looked very much like his father had, sans a few facial markings. Now the time had come when he probably would see his father's face staring back at him. It was more than a little unnerving. He closed his eyes and let out a harsh breath before flipping the mirror over and opening his eyes simultaneously.

He stared, "Kagome, why did you give me a picture of Sesshoumaru?" then gaped, as Sesshoumaru's jaw waggled in time with his words. He heard Kagome giggle, but he was too wrapped up in his own appearance to notice much. He knew things would be different, he knew it when he woke up and had to think about sitting up because his center of balance was off. But he never thought the resemblance between his brother and himself would jump so much.

He turned his head from side to side, taking note of the delicate stripes along his cheekbones, and reached a hand up to brush aside his hair. His eyes rested momentarily on the matching mark on his wrist and his slightly longer claws. He also noted with some surprise that he still had the dog ears he had been born with, not Sesshoumaru's more human like ones.

While his chin was still sharper than his brother's, his face had lengthened slightly, making him look more noble. His eyes had thinned as well, and added to the stripes on his cheeks, created a very fine sculpted look that the now full youkai wasn't sure he was used to.

He brushed his hair back again, feeling something off… that was odd; his hair was definitely lighter, less course and practically _shone_ it was so white. As his hair fell forward once more, it disturbed his bangs, revealing a red crescent moon mark that they had been purposely grown out to hide the lack of. Absently he noticed that the change had added inches towards his height to the point that the fire rat robes were now useless.

There was a vague and insubstantial wondering in the back of his head about what it would be like to transform into a demon state.

He looked up, the miko studying him intently was munching on a manjuu and offered him one as he continued to stare into space in thought. Taking the sweet bun, he munched a bit before he focused and queried, "where's Sesshoumaru?"

"Up stairs. Talking with Miroku, I think," she continued to study him, her eyes flicking across his face. She seemed as fascinated with the changes as he did.

"Can you go get him?"

Without a word, the young woman got up, robes rustling and went back up the stairs. Inuyasha stared off in thought while he waited, his mind pleasantly not thinking about evil hanyous or annoying wolf princes.

Footsteps on the stairs drew his attention and he watched as Kagome lead the taiyoukai to him. The moment his brother was within his sight, however, something strange happened.

He noticed right off the bat that Sesshoumaru was tense, hyper alert. He straightened instinctively, scenting the air for danger, when his nose caught whiff of something that he had never smelt from anyone. It was hard to describe, kind of bitter and sweet and like flowers. A _whole_ smell with an edge of something harsh. Something full that seemed to expand in your lungs when you drew it in. The kind of smell that made you stand at attention. Or attack.

The once-hanyou gritted his teeth at the sudden swelling he felt inside his chest, and put a hand to his temple in an attempt to ease the headache he felt building. He was just barely aware of his brother murmuring a warning before he was shoved from the front of his mind, "I knew this was a bad idea…"

* * *

Sesshoumaru had his doubts when his brother's miko asked him to come down to the bowels of the shrine. It wasn't so much a fear of the younger but more a cautious feeling concerning what the boy would do. Being a hanyou, Inuyasha had more than likely never scented the undertone to a taiyoukai's scent. Depending on what his youki felt, his brother would either attack, or bow in submission.

Sesshoumaru was rather convinced it would be the former, rather than the later. And not just because of his brother's stubborn habits; he was a son of the great Inutaisho, after all. He probably wouldn't let himself be dominated by anyone.

Never the less, as the saying goes, there was only one way to find out. And besides, it had to happen sooner or later.

He followed her to the heart of the recently erected shrine, past the alter and off into a side room with a large cellar door in the center. Pausing briefly, he took the light from her as she bent to open the door.

The taiyoukai had to admit, his brother had chosen well. The miko was powerful, strong and strong willed as any demon. She never backed down but had enough common sense to not pick fights she couldn't win. It really was too bad she wasn't a demon, he thought; she would have made a wonderful leader. _Especially compared to those old, blubbering fools_, he concluded with contempt.

She retrieved the lamp and they continued down the stairs. He paused about half way down and closed his eyes, ignoring the questioning look of the miko. He was curious as to how much his brother's scent had changed, not to mention the markings that his younger sibling would have received upon his transformation.

The Lord of the West frowned slightly; and, if his eyes hadn't been deceiving him, his brother's ears would have to be addressed as well. He shrugged it off; it was far more likely that his brother's (untidy) hair had created the appearance of the puppy ears that human women seemed to adore.

But, back to the problem at hand, his brother's reaction to his taiyoukai scent was his foremost concern. Especially with his brother's…. 'condition' to complicate matters. Sesshoumaru just thanked Amaterasu that the younger hadn't fully transformed into his demon self when he was a hanyou. That was one thing the taiyoukai had been grateful for. His brother's human blood had prevented him from transforming into the great dog like he himself was capable of. So when he went insane as his demon blood took over, at least there was no real worry of him rampaging all over Nippon.

Steeling himself, the Great Youkai took a deep breath and descended the final half of the stair well.

He got a momentary glimpse of his brother's appearance, noting with a faint shock how similar they looked, before Inuyasha's face contorted in pain and he understood what was happening. It seemed that his brother would indeed prefer to fight to being dominated.

He sighed and moved the miko behind him, "I knew this was a bad idea…"

Then his brother was suddenly in front of him, claws aiming straight for his throat. He would learn in the days to come, to regret ever teaching his brother to be so fast. A quick pivot on his right foot, and a step back with his left allowed him to both dodge the attack, and go on the offensive. Continuing with his turn, it was a small matter to grab his brother by the wrist and take the younger with him. He brought Inuyasha across the front of his body with his left, shoved the miko back with his right, tripped his brother up with his foot, then hurled him back at the wall. The enraged demon hit the dirt wall hard enough to shake the temple above and leave a small 'poof!' of dust at his impact point.

The taiyoukai cursed. The temple above wouldn't benefit from the coming battle, but he had no way of leading his brother elsewhere without making it seem like he was running away, and in this fight, appearances were everything.

Sesshoumaru's eye widened a fraction as he heard the miko behind him preparing her spell, "SI-"

"NO!" he roared at her, "do not interfere. At. All."

She gaped at his back, and stuttered, "wh-why for heaven's sake!?"

He spared a glance behind at her with one eye before he was forced to block another swipe of claws. Flinging Inuyasha away again he answered her briefly, "it's a battle of submission. Whoever looses is conquered. If you help me, I loose."

He could practically hear her plotting in light of his revelation and he peaked over his shoulder to give a blood-freezing glare, "don't even think it."

"B-but you'll kill him!"

His mental eyes rolled; did she _still_ not trust him with the mutt? "Do not fret, miko. It is a battle to first blood, nothing more."

He was spared having to argue with her over it as the once-hanyou came at him again. He parried and dodged attacks, watching as his brother's red eyes got more and more infuriated. It just figured that the one sure-fire way he knew of to knock his brother into his senses was currently inaccessible- and by his own choice! A mental sigh signaled the final seal on his resolve; he had wanted to wait until his brother was in full control of his faculties, but it seemed the brat just _had_ to do everything **his** way. Brat.

It didn't help that the results would be unfair; Inuyasha was unbelievably slow and dimwitted when he got like this. It was almost like fighting a child. He grunted as a fist connected to his face. Alright, an unbelievably _strong_ child, but a child nonetheless.

He let the punch stagger him, and added a few extra steps back till he was at the base of the stairs leading to the main part of the shrine. The taiyoukai dodged more strikes, backing steadily up the stairs till he was in the small storage room and had flat, stable ground to attack back from. Still, he let the enraged youkai push him further and further into the shrine proper, sparing glances behind him when he could to check their progress.

As they came upon the doors to the new temple, he thanked whoever had the foresight to have the doors swivel outward, rather than the more formal sliding shoji screen doors, and kicked them open.

The taiyoukai leapt backward to dodge a swipe of claws and landed on the top of the steps leading into the shrine. From there it was a simple matter to let the once-hanyou steadily push him back into the forest.

As he backed further into the pines, Sesshoumaru marveled at human ingenuity and stubbornness. Though the shrine grounds were almost 2 ¼ kilometers (1.4 miles) from the village, the perseverance of the villagers had constructed the temple, the grounds and a small guest home in the week preceding and the two weeks following Naraku's attack.

The once-small clearing around the Bone-Eating Well had been cleared enough so that Sesshoumaru was able to just catch a glimpse of the Goshinboku before he was forced to pay more attention to his brother. Dodging a swipe of claws, the taiyoukai set about thinking.

He could easily draw first blood from his brother, ending the fight and forcing the other's erratic youki into submission; there was no question about Sesshoumaru's battle prowess against such an impaired Inuyasha. But that idea didn't sit well with the taiyoukai. Inuyasha, he knew, was a skilled warrior, even more so now that he had been trained in the use of the Fang, and doubly now that he was a full youkai. Any victory against Inuyasha in anything but a coherent, fully alert state would be a victory in name only and he would be both shamed at the conquest, and forever questioning his own abilities.

On the other hand, he couldn't let Inuyasha win. Besides the fact that Inuyasha might not stop at first blood under these circumstances, the koinu simply wasn't ready for the position of Lord of all the Western Land. He had many things to learn about himself, his new powers and the way things worked in youkai society, not to mention inu society in particular, before he would be ready for even the position of heir to the throne.

Sesshoumaru blocked a kick that sent him skidding back several paces as he contemplated the third, and really the only viable, option.

The third option would be to force a draw. Which was impossible under Inuyasha's current mental condition. Either getting the gaki to back down, or draw blood at the exact moment his brother did would be nigh impossible without at least a semblance of intelligence in his brother's eyes. which meant that he would have to subdue his brother without said brother's help, _and_ without drawing any blood whatsoever. Which would be a challenge on a good day.

Which this obviously wasn't.

The right hook that came in towards his face gave him an idea and an opening needed to perpetrate the idea it sponsored. Grabbing his brother's right wrist, he blocked the swipe of claws from the left hand and deflected it outward, and using the same hand he blocked with, lightly coated with poison, in an open palm strike to the face, rendered his brother unconscious, "we really need to work on your guard, little brother."

He caught the collapsing demon with something that would have been an eye-roll-sigh combo for anyone else. Then he sneered in distaste; when was the last time his brother _washed_ his damn clothes?! _Ugh, I cant believe he can live in this smell! And his hakama don't even **fit** right! _

_But_, he pondered, _it's not like the brat really had the option of getting any more. He probably _lived_ in this kimono._ The taiyoukai felt a pang of guilt, which he quickly shook off, _it's not like I could have done anything; the law forbids it._

He blinked. No, the law _for**bade**_ it…

He smirked, "otouto, we have a lot of catching up to do…"

* * *

Kagome rushed outside, following the sounds of rustling fabric and enraged roars from her-… from Inuyasha. She paused outside the temple, looking for which way they could have possibly gone when the noises stopped. She waited patiently for some other noise to draw her attention to the battle, certain she could help even after Sesshoumaru's warning and past her own instincts telling her to stay put if she wouldn't comply with their first demand of _run screaming!_

It didn't take too long for her to spot Sesshoumaru carrying Inuyasha's sedate form over one shoulder, or for her to bound down the temple steps with worry, almost falling flat on her face in her haste. The taiyoukai was speaking as she got closer, and it took her a second to figure out it was she who was being spoken to.

"…alright, I didn't kill him," his calmness infuriated her at times. He'd just walked into the clearing with his unconscious now-full-demon brother over his shoulder and he didn't even look a _bit_ guilty!

She stared at him intently, a hint of anger in her eyes. not so much at him, but more of her own helplessness in the face of the situation, "So. Who won?"

"Inuyasha lost," he stated briefly as he walked past her to the temple. She turned to stare at him in outrage, sure he had used his brother's weakened state to his advantage when he peered over his shoulder at her, "and so did I."

Her anger deflated in the face of confusion, "huh?"

* * *

Sesshoumaru faced forwards once again to mount the shrine steps, and pseudo-rolled his eyes, _very articulate, miko._

"Come," was all he said aloud, however.

He walked through the still-open doors of the shrine and laid his brother down on the futon mat the miko had been using next to the door. Though the temple proper and many of the buildings had been completed, there were still some minor touches that the artisans insisted on doing before they would let the miko's chambers be occupied by their Kagome-sama. They routinely stated that everything had to be perfect for one of their saviors. So, the miko took to watching over the temple while the village waited on the last few ounces of gold they had bought and a semi precious stone that had to come from Kyushu.

The taiyoukai seated himself at the head of his brother's futon and mussed over what he should tell them. His brother's attraction towards the miko was quite clear and he had to make them understand what Inuyasha's transformation would mean for them both. They could not have the fairy tale ending they deserved.

Sesshoumaru blinked at the thought, _I'm getting soft._ But they really did. Or Inuyasha really did. The boy had suffered far too much in too short a time to get nothing in return. And when he looked at the miko, his brother's eyes shone like gold. If for that look and nothing else, he would ensure history would not repeat itself.

Gold eyes turned at a sound from the doorway and he beckoned the miko with a slight twitch of his head. He waited until she had seated herself at his brother's side before beginning, "miko… Kagome." He saw her eyes widen fractionally, but he didn't care, "there is something you must know. Both you and Inuyasha. I will tell you first so that you may assure him that this is no trick and that what I speak is truth."

Despite all the recent progress, almost 200 years of bad history still remained between the brothers, a fact that often prevented them from… seeing eye to eye, as it were. More often than he would like, arguments had been settled in near or complete violence.

"You and my brother must-"

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama!! Oh where are you Sesshoumaru-sama!?"

He sighed. It figured. Just his luck, as always.

"What have they done to you Sesshoumaru-sama? Why do you not answer?"

"Oi! Watch out! Damn toad… he's not here! Obviously. Otherwise he would have answered you."

"YOU! What have you done to my Sesshoumaru-sama!?! Ah! Feel the wrath of the Staff two Skulls!"

"What the-? Ow! OWOWOWOWOW! Kami-damnit!! Get back here, you!"

"SESSHOUMARU-SAMA!!!!!!!!!!" the little kappa burst through the doors the miko had closed, trailing one angry monk and a whole lot of smoke. With practiced ease, the tiny spirit honed in on his idol and fell to the floor in submission next to him, "Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Said youkai glanced at his retainer, "Jaken."

Immediately the youkai prostrating himself sat up and spoke in a hurried and scratchy voice, "Sesshoumaru-sama! The Council of Dogs demands- er, _requests_ an audience with you, my Lord!"

Sesshoumaru blinked slowly, thinking. _Shit. Shit, shit, shit. This could NOT have come at a worse time._ "Tell the Inu no Shiyakusho I will meet with them on the night of the new moon."

The kappa swallowed and the taiyoukai could almost see the gears turning. Requesting a meeting on the night of a new moon was a sleight in inu society. It meant that the one receiving the invite was displeased with the party asking for the assembly, and/or asserting their dominance. In this case, it would be both. _How **dare** they summon me like some lowly commoner. I am **Lord** of the West!_

Their impudence and arrogance turned his stomach. The little shits thought to command him, but he was no one's tool. He would be as his father was, and **_not_** a porcelain figure upon a throne for them to play with. He would make them pay.

But subtly.

A sudden thought gave him inspiration, _it would be the perfect night to introduce Inuyasha to the council. Now that I know his transformations weren't myth they will understand what bringing a former hanyou to the meeting on the night of the new moon means. This might actually make this entire event (no, farce. Definitely a farce) go smoother and better for me. Not to mention Inuyasha. _

"Was there anything else, Jaken?" the now smug but still stoic taiyoukai asked. And he smiled.

Jaken, the loyal, if a bit misguided, retainer quivered in fear; his lord was _smiling_. Only bad things could come from this.

"N-no, Sesshoumaru-sama!" he squeaked.

Sesshoumaru glanced away and the kappa took that as his cue to scamper as far and as fast as his little legs could carry him.

* * *

**yeah, really sorry again about the lateness. remember to look for my next update in about two weeks! and i should have a link up here in a little while to that new pic of inuyasha. dont forget to come back for the next chapter! the inu bros go _shopping!!_**


	4. Setting of the House of Dog

**sorry about the late update again. i'm trying to get these out on a semi-regualr basis, but i dont get more than three days notice when i have to work for the week and then i've got school on top of that.**

**i'm just happy i'm getting any of this done at all!**

* * *

"Inuyasha woke slowly, a mite irritated to learn that he had _once again_ been knocked unconscious. He heard his brother muttering above him and Kagome's occasional interruption. He groaned; why did they have to be so damn _loud_?

Curiously, the conversation cut off as his ears swiveled back in pain. He opened his eyes carefully to observe the shrine's ceiling, noting that at least _this time_ he was in the main part of the shrine, rather than the bellows. Noting a fuzzy brown instead of sharp focused planks he blinked several times as his brother spoke, "Inuyasha, do not scent the air. You are now able to detect my youki and as custom demands, we will fight to determine dominance. But not now. This is not the time."

The younger squinted his eyes as he turned to his brother, noting that the figure cleared only slightly. He opened his mouth to speak and was sent into a coughing fit. When his breathing had calmed, he looked back at his brother, faintly registering that his vision had cleared and there was only a very vague tremble to Sesshoumaru's image, "What do you mean, 'you're _**now**_ able to detect my youki'? How do you think the Wind Scar worked?! I had to 'detect your youki' to _use_ the Wind Scar!"

"Idiot… only a full demon can detect _tai_youki. Taiyouki is different than youki. Any being with demon blood has youki, but only a _tai_youkai has _tai_youki. Taiyouki is detectable as a scent in the air, which is why you mustn't try to find my scent." The taiyoukai gave Inuyasha a trying look, as if to say, '_you should already know this._'

He snorted; as if he'd ever been able to 'detect' such a thing. And no one had, obviously, explained it before. It wasn't like there'd ever been a need. He saddened at this, but his thoughts brightened as he realized that it did apply now. He could walk freely among demons without fear.

His focus came back as his brother stood and made to leave.

The younger inu blinked, "Sesshoumaru?"

"Come," was all the departing figure said.

* * *

'_I wont tell them right away_,' he glanced over at the miko walking a little beside and behind him. She was staring at the ground in a glazed sort of way. 

'_Ok_,' he amended, '_I wont tell __**him**__ right away. Knowing the koinu, he'd just get all depressed after he'd try and kill me for keeping such things from him _before_ his choice._'

He shook his head. As if he was _able_ to tell. Speaking of demon laws to outcasts was one of the most strictly regulated laws in inu society. The penalty was instant death; even a taiyoukai such as himself would be stripped of his titles and outcast from the clan. And Inuyasha, as hanyou, was outcast from the moment of his birth.

Getting the council to allow him to fight beside his little brother had been all but impossible and, he was sure, had he been a couple centuries younger, he would have come out of the meeting with several cuts and bites. It was only because of Naraku's rather fortuitous attempt on the Council that he was allowed two months to train the hanyou in the use of the Tessaiga and to defeat the spider-demon side by side. Still, he was forbidden to have meals with his younger sibling or have any contact whatsoever outside of the training sessions.

Now, though… now, he was completely free from those laws. He was finally able to speak to his brother, though it would take time, he knew, to come out of the shell he had forced himself to live in since his little brother's birth. Because of their close clans, hanyou were often the downfall of their parents and siblings, who would rather die than see them outcast. Which was why he, himself had deliberately taken it upon himself to 'kill' Inuyasha.

By being in such open and direct conflict with his otouto all the time, he was able to both keep his eye on him, train him and diffuse suspicion from himself. He had been the one, discretely, to inform his brother of the Jewel of Four Souls, and it's ability to remove the human from a hanyou. Oh, how he had wept in joy after the meeting in which he had learned of the Tama. He finally had the chance to speak with his little brother, to be a companion to him.

He glanced to his other side, where the newly transformed Inuyasha was looking about with obvious rapture, his nose twitching and ears swiveling about a mile a minute in his excitement. He had the strange urge to laugh at his brother's antics, and, remembering with a slight shock that he was able to show emotion now, let a small smile escape. Yes, unlocking his emotions would take time.

The village they were passing through was a neighboring one to the temple. The entire reason Sesshoumaru had taken Inuyasha (and te miko, of course) to this particular village was because it was unique in two ways. Not only did this village specialize in beautiful and detailed fabrics and kimono, the village traded freely with the Inu clans. Sesshoumaru himself was a common fixture here, having need several times (mostly after encounters with his brother, he noted wryly) of their ability to repair garments that were torn or soiled.

Oddly, side by side were street vendors like those the larger cities of Edo and Kyoto, hawking their wears. A good percentage of them were selling food: chunks of meat on sticks over fires with various seasonings, fried pork or beef, seasoned rice, chilled and heated sake, udon and miso were among the more frequented. It was one of these he stopped by, not trusting his brother with food around any new (or old for that matter) clothes.

Which was the entire purpose behind the trip; getting Inuyasha kimono that fit.

He bought three sticks of roasted beef, daikon, carrots, onions and some red fruit. Passing one off to the miko, he turned to his brother with a stern look of warning, "DON'T spill it."

Inuyasha huffed and looked off to the side in irritation, but nevertheless took the stick when his brother offered it to him. He even said thank you, muttered though it was.

The taiyoukai turned and tore off a chunk of beef from the stick, noting with satisfaction that he had been right; the meat was youkai. He belatedly hoped that it wouldn't make the miko sick. Turing to her with the intention of warning her, he discovered that there was no real point; she'd already downed a third of it and was, at the moment, working on a rather large chunk of onion.

He sighed lightly and continued to lead the small group down the main street. By the time they had reached the shop the taiyoukai was looking for, he had finished his snack and noticed with amusement that the priestess was glancing at Inuyasha's remaining beef chunk, which he was chewing on idly. He brought them up short outside of a small, sparse looking shop nearly on the end of the street and, making sure that Inuyasha had finished his meal, ushered them inside.

He heard the shop keeper greet them as he came inside, "Ah! Customers! How can I help you?"

The taiyoukai came forward with a slight bow, "Onegaishimasu. I would like to commission kimono for my younger brother."

The shop-keep, a middle aged man with bright blonde fly-away hair smiled brilliantly at the demon lord, "Maa, Sesshoumaru-sama, miemasendeshita. Sumimasen."

[A/N: Sesshoumaru- onegaishimasu (to make a request; lit. 'please')

[Shop-keep- maa ('oh') miemasendeshita (lit. 'did not see') sumimasen ( sorry; lit. ['please excuse me'

The store was sparse, but warm and clean, something that appeased to Sesshoumaru greatly. The taiyoukai was sure that, with the quality of his work, the shop-keep could afford a much larger store, and possibly a few workers under him, but despite the quality and sturdiness of the material, the shouten was always in this spot and in this condition whenever Sesshoumaru needed it.

The little counter that the owner had set up was off to the right of the door way, and always had a tea pot and several washed cups for his customers, and often was paired with rice balls or manjuu. Today there was a small tray of dango with, what smelled like, sweet rice and jasmine tea.

After making sure that they were all set up (Sesshoumaru took both tea and dango, the miko taking tea and Inuyasha forgoing both), the smiling tailor turned to the demon lord, "So, Sesshoumaru-sama, you're brother you say? If I may be so bold, I do not ever remember the Great Dog Demon siring other pups."

Sesshoumaru simply looked at him until the man began to fidget slightly before replying, "Inutaishou-tou-san sired both myself and Inuyasha, though I would appreciate this news not leaving this shouten."

The blonde man blinked, "'Inuyasha'? Wasn't he the hanyou who-? OH!" he stared in surprise, "He was-is your brother? But then isn't he-?"

"As I said earlier, I would appreciate this news not being spread to anyone," the taiyoukai said from behind his tea cup.

The shop-keep looked offended, "Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama. Of course I would never tell anyone about my customer's lives and relations. Gossip-mongering is such a nasty habit after all."

Sesshoumaru gave the owner one last look before bringing the discussion back on topic, "It will have to be comfortable, and in a style and color fitting of a son of a demon lord, not to mention as heir of the Western throne."

Inuyasha, it seemed, felt it time to make his desires known, "I don't want any frilly stuff, Sesshoumaru. No pink and no flowery crap! You want that stuff, you get it yourself! And why isn't my fire rat good enough, anyways?! It acts like armor, and even repels fire! I don't want some cheep human clothes."

The elder sighed; he should have known this was going too well, "Inuyasha, what do you think I'm wearing? Human silk? You have personally wrecked my wardrobe two hundred and seventeen times. Did you not once stop to think _why_ it was that I kept getting the same kimono made?" he threw a dango at his brother and felt a small amount of satisfaction as the bun hit the now-youkai in the face, eliciting surprised squawk.

Inuyasha peeled it off his red face and just glared as his older brother continued, "It's because the fabric is made out of stuff stronger than your fire rat. Easier to clean as well. It's made with dragon hair."

The shop-keep nodded along in happy agreement. Sesshoumaru turned back to his conversation, "It will need to be ready before the new moon. And I wish armor commissioned as well." He saw his brother open his mouth from the corner of his eye and decided to head the demon off before he got too much momentum, "Inuyasha, I am paying for everything so you better just sit down and shut up. You are now a prince of the Western Lands, and I'll have no brother of mine wandering around in too small, badly worn kimono. I'll also have no arguments about the armor; it's necessary in inu society, I'll explain the details later."

Once again, he addressed the tailor, "I'll need have shoes commissioned for him as well. Do you happen to know of any stores in the area? I'm afraid the one I went to seems to have closed in my absence."

The shop keeper rattled off a number of stores with an excited smile before adding, "But, of course, we also provide that service here! Your friend from the shop, Yamanaka-san, didn't close down, he merely transferred his services here."

Sesshoumaru nodded in recognition of the fact before he set about discussing the finer things of the deal, "My brother, I'm sure, would prefer something in red, or a similar hue, although I insist on at least two colors. Further, the armor should also be in two colors and have our family crest on it."

They heard a calling from behind one of the doors in the back, "Shindou-kun? What did you do with my leather press?"

'Shindou' looked apologetic, "Shitsureshimasu." He hurried over to the back and cracked open a large shoji screen, "Your leather press? It was against the back wall, next to the dyeing station."

Some rattling and rustling, "You sure? Cause I don't remember it being there…"

The figure peaking in shook his head, "Yes, I'm sure. Just try looking for it. Ano, I'm with a client, so if you would mind… actually," he glanced back at Sesshoumaru, "If you wouldn't mind Sesshoumaru-sama…?" he received a nod of acceptance, "Aa, Yamanaka-san, please join us, as Sesshoumaru-sama also wishes shoes made."

"Really?! Cool!" there was several loud banging noises, a rather large clang, and a crash before Yamanaka emerged, her leather apron askew and her red hair falling out of her headband, her eyes were substantially different from Shindou's murky grey, not only in their silted iris, but also in their startling violet shade. She was tanned as her leather and was barefoot, only her ankles wrapped.

She walked right over and 'plopped' herself to the left of the seat that Shindou had vacated, which he quickly retook.

"So! You want more shoes, Sesshou-san?" the young demon asked with a grin. The taiyoukai could almost feel the miko and former-hanyou cringing behind him. But he smiled (or smirked, really); he was used to dealing with this particular shoe maker. Her father had been in the service of his father and then himself for the better part of seven centuries. She, as her father had, made excellent shoes, but it was for their armor and artistic taste that the Yamanaka family was well known.

The inu lord inclined his head in assent, "For my younger brother."

Her eyes darted to the figure seated behind him and he watched as her eyes took in his form. He noted with no real surprise that she didn't comment on his recently 'acquiring' of a brother. She had far more tact than that; well, that and she just didn't care, probably.

Arms crossed she scrutinized the younger inu brother before stating plainly, "You want armor for him, too, huh?"

Again, he nodded.

"Any preference on what type of shoes?"

"None."

"Good!" she sprang to her feet and bounded back to the shoji screen, which she disappeared behind for a bit, before coming out with a measuring cloth, several scraps of material, a few pieces of metal and several different chunks of youkai hide. She deposited all of these in the space between Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha and provided a running commentary, mostly to Inuyasha, as she held up each sample.

"Now, color doesn't matter too much, as I can dye almost any color you want, but durability and mobility are crucial. We have to find what works for you personally.

"This here," she held up a scrap of material, "is called 'cat cloth'. It's made from a hanabi neko's hide. In addition to resisting fire well it provides limited protection against acids, and is one of the best insulating materials around."

"This, on the other hand," she held up a different material swath, vaguely blue toned, "is called 'wormskin'. It doesn't actually come from worms but from the evolution shells of moth demons. It provides almost complete resistance to water, but it does very poorly with oils."

"Here we have 'dragon fur'," a vaguely shimmer-y fabric was in her hands at this point, "Dragon fur is probably the _most_ effective of the three. It can withstand heat, water, oil and acid, but because of it's cost and the fact that it doesn't insulate well, it's mostly ignored."

She held up both the reflective dragon fur and the cream colored cat cloth together, "However, since this is Sesshou-san's otouto-san, we can get a little more creative! These two, layered would be the best for you, I think, Innya-san."

Yamanaka handed over the samples to Inuyasha, and Sesshoumaru watched in mild amusement as he fingered the cool-and-smooth dragon fur and compared it to the soft, plush cat cloth.

He turned to the demon shoemaker, "I believe your appraisal would be best. What do you have for armor?"

"Ah!" she started with excitement, "I _just_ got in a new shipment of materials today! From Hokkaido! There's a fairly large battle going on over there, right? Lots and lots to choose from!"

Her red hair bounced around her as she rummaged through the pile in front of them. She tossed aside chunks of demon bone, hide and exoskeleton before coming back up with a few, "This is from a centipede demon-"

Sesshoumaru, having seen the green looks on both Inuyasha's and the miko's face forestalled any further development on the topic, "I think not for this sale, Yamanaka-san."

Violet eyes blinked, "Er…ok? Um, well, then…" she shifted through her selection before settling on a piercing white chunk, "This is a piece of bone from a wolf demon-"

Again, Sesshoumaru interrupted at his brother's expression, "Perhaps something else…?" Was there any type of demon Inuyasha _hadn't _had a foul run-in with?

"Uh, right. Hmm…" She shifted around again, "Ok, well how about this one then? Dragon's claws are made from a material so like metal we can actually mold it, with extreme heat…"

He was about to cut her off again, memories of his father's death flashing through his mind when Inuyasha suddenly broke in, "This one! That's it. Dragon claw."

The taiyoukai looked at his brother in surprise. He wasn't even aware that Inuyasha was paying _any_ attention, let alone that he already knew what he wanted, "Inuyasha, Father-"

He was equally surprised when gold eyes locked with his, "I know exactly how Father died, Sesshoumaru. And I know 'what'. That's why I want it." He nodded towards the four foot long dragon claw that Yamanaka was blinking over, stupidly.

_No, you don't Otouto. But I will tell you,_ he glanced at the miko, _I have to tell you._

"Very well, Inuyasha." He turned to the befuddled demon, "A simple chest plate of the dragon claw, kudasai. With my family's crest on it, if you will."

The demon nodded and scampered back to the shoji screen, returning with a scroll and a piece of charcoal. They discussed back and forth over the paper, the leather worker sketching and rubbing out portions of her design, trying to make it fit with the lord's idea. At last, the taiyoukai nodded and the red hair bounced once as it's owner nodded in confirmation, "it'll be done in a few days, Sesshoumaru-san. The shoes should be done in about a day and a half, though, so feel free to come pick them up any time past then."

She gathered up the material samples that were scattered across the floor that Shindou was eyeing in distaste, "I'll leave you with Shindou-kun then."

* * *

_This is turning out to be an interesting day_, Inuyasha pondered. First, Sesshoumaru wakes him up, leads him to some town, not only buys him food (which was quite good, he had to admit) but then practically shoves down his throat that he, the great, stuck up, Mr. Prissy Prick was going to buy clothes, shoes and armor for his pathetic, hanyo- oh, wait, he _wasn't_ half-and-half any more. 

_Ok, but still,_ Inuyasha thought, _he let Kagome come. He let _Kagome _come. She's human. And he hates humans. _He frowned, _I think._

Currently, he, his stuck-up Mr. Prissy-Prick brother (he sniggered; oh that was a good nick-name for the bastard) and Kagome were sitting in some shop in another town where his brother was haggling with a tailor over the cost of making a kimono before the new moon.

There it was again; the new moon. It's like the world was trying to tell him that it was all a sick joke and he better not get used to it because it was all disappearing in three days.

But that was stupid. He knew for a fact that he was full demon. There was tons of evidence; him 'attacking' his brother, his strange episodes, the new edge to his senses and how sometimes, when he _really_ concentrated, he could kinda feel what his brother was thinking.

It was really interesting in his brother's head. There was a lot of hope, some worry (which the demon lord was trying oh-so-hard to suppress), glee and a great deal of guilt, which puzzled Inuyasha to no end. What could the taiyoukai possibly have done that would require that much guilt, let alone _any_ guilt from 'this Sesshoumaru'?

He had felt the spike of pain when the dragon claw was held up, but he had wanted it anyway, and said so. Oddly, there was a small hint of worry at his words followed by a huge crashing of guilt so intense that he lost his focus, and his brother's emotions faded from his mind.

He'd had valid reasons for wanting the dragon claw, too. Not only to show that he, too had beaten the dragon, like his father, but also to show that he was _not_ his father. Or Sesshoumaru. He had walked away from the battle alive.

His attention was brought back to reality by his brother beckoning him to follow the tailor. He glanced at Kagome in confusion, and she leaned over to whisper/explain that the reason they were going deeper into the shop was to pick out a fabric for his new kimono.

He nodded and followed diligently after his brother, trying not to fidget in the too-small fire rat.

They stepped into a shoji screen on the left hand side, Sesshoumaru giving him a stoic yet surprisingly disapproving look after noticing the younger's restless shifting and fussing. But he couldn't help it! They were too tight!

Sesshoumaru sighed lightly and continued following the human, pushing his brother ahead of him to meet Shindou at the back of the large and very crowded room. The place was jam, filled-to-the-gills, no-I-can't-even-eat-a-dinner-mint pact with bolts of fine fabrics.

Inuyasha stopped a few times along the way, noting with awe the amazing quality of the fabrics. The last time he had seen something even _half _as fine had been when he still lived in the palace with his mother. And they had been the ruling family for the state!

The tailor bowed low when they finally reached him (Sesshoumaru had almost been ready to pull off his little brother's ears for his stopping so much) and addressed Inuyasha directly, something he had yet to do, and something that surprised the prince greatly. He was largely used to being ignored by anyone and everyone. Unless they wanted to kill him, that is.

"Inuyasha-sama," the tailor began, "please choose any fabric from among these bolts. These are the finest linens, silks, cottons, hairs and furs in my collection." He bowed low again and exited to allow his customers to pick their product, "Shitsureshimasu."

Inuyasha fingered one of the dangling pieces of material, amazed by it's softness.

Sesshoumaru, however, called him further down towards the left wall, "Inuyasha, leave those; they are all human cloths. This section here is for demons. It's stronger and more durable than anything a human could make."

He did as Sesshoumaru asked, moving towards the more vivid bolts a few feet from his brother.

His brother. How often had he called the taiyoukai such, recently? He didn't know. Something inside him wanted to protect his brother, make the elder proud of him and, confusing most of all, get closer to him. it was a surprising and exhilarating emotion all at once, though not unwelcome. It was bittersweet that the taiyoukai meant so much to him when he was the reason Inuyasha had spent so much of his life in fear and hatred.

"Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru, his brother, drew his attention back from wandering with a simple brush on the shoulder, "Keep in the present; the past has little value now."

"I know," the elder continued, "that you preferred the fire rat, but did you also prefer the color?"

Inuyasha blinked, "Uh… yeah. Reds and blues."

Sesshoumaru nodded and led him over to a section to the right that had bright reds and golds. His brother perused through them, commenting occasionally on the construction and composition of each of the shimmering, shinning, fluttering cloths. Holding up one after another, the taiyoukai tried to find one that wasn't 'too pink', 'too bright', 'too shimmery-ish', 'too flowery' or 'too abstract'.

Which pretty much eliminated every bolt of fabric in the red/gold section.

"Can't we just get red!?" Inuyasha whined. He was at his wits end; every fabric that Sesshoumaru thought was good was completely over flourished, and every fabric that _he_ suggested, was 'too plain for a son of Inutaisho'.

Sesshoumaru sighed, actually _sighed_, and rubbed his temple in annoyance, "Inuyasha, red is too-"

"-plain a color, blah, blah, blah!" Inuyasha growled, "I get it! My tastes are unrefined! But at least I don't waste _two and a half hours_ picking out my god damned clothes!"

Sesshoumaru growled uncharacteristically and almost stomped to the end of the aisle and stopped suddenly. In fact, he froze.

"Inuyasha," the taiyoukai was being quiet, even more so than usual, "come here."

Reluctantly, and grumbling, the youkai obeyed, shuffling to the end of the line where he was caught just as his brother was.

There, at the end, was a moderately dusty bolt of fabric that looked as if it hadn't been used much. That wasn't the reason Sesshoumaru stopped, although the condition of the fabric was appalling.

The fabric was strong, made from a blend of demon tiger fur and youkai silkworms and was dyed to reflect the setting sun. it started as a pale, pale peach at the top, then worked it's way down through various shades of yellow, followed by orange, red and then crimson. It ended in a deep, deep wine color that was so dark, it was nearly black.

"This one," both youkai stated. They turned and blinked at each other; _they agreed on something?!_

* * *

**I just thought I'd clarify a few things, cause I'm sure you're all goin; 'huh?'. The title 'taiyoukai' (in my story at least) isn't a title like 'lord' or 'captain' that can be taken away by society. Taiyoukai is an actually physical trait that one acquires after many years or a hard battle. A youkai evolves into a taiyoukai after gaining enough experience. No outside force can strip a taiyoukai of his 'taiyoukai' title. **_**However**_**, any youkai can challenge any other youkai for their positions and titles. In the inu clan, titles can only be exchanged between dog demons. Further, only one of the Inutaisho line can inherit the Western lands, regardless of youki status (basically saying that if Inuyasha ((now as a full youkai)) beat Sesshoumaru, he would become the Lord of the West regardless if he wanted the title [hanyou and other 'outcasts' are bereft of this right, which is why Sesshoumaru was still Lord even after his brother kept beating him as a hanyou).**

**Hanyou, as instant outcasts from the clan, are forbidden from inheriting.**

**I wanted Sesshoumaru to have a **_**reason**_** for being such an irritating, condescending, arrogant asshole all the time. So I gave him a little benefit of the doubt and took a little artistic license and made him be the one to inform Inuyasha about the Jewel. Although, Inuyasha has no idea. One of Sesshoumaru's servants had discussed it with the boy. This also gives me an opportunity to play with Sesshoumaru more, especially in inu social context.**

**the next chapter will be much shorter than the rest, but i'll do a double up-date because of it. the next chapter will cover the three days until the meeting with the Council and the chapter after that will cover the dreaded encounter itself. dhun-dun-DUN!**

**--**

**Interesting thing of note: it seems that all those rumors of Inuyasha's name were true- to an extent. While, yes, 'yasha' means 'female demon', the individual mora 'ya' and 'sha' also have meanings. 'Ya' can mean 'arrow', 'melting', 'eight' or 'valley'; while 'sha' can be either 'inn/hut/house/mansison', 'borrowing' or '****photograph, copy, transcribe, duplicate'. I took this to mean 'the dog's dissolving house, as Inuyasha was only half a dog demon so he was the point at which the house of the dog began to 'melt'. (inu of course means dog)**

**[the reason I went to all this trouble: I noticed that when writing his name, Inuyasha contains three kanji, not two. Now kanji, unlike hiragana, don't stand for individual sounds. They, more like hieroglyphics, stand for ideas. That's why the idea of 'dog' 'female demon' didn't sit well with me. There were three kanji, yet everyone was only translating two ideas. It didn't fit.**


	5. Inuyasha's Three Day Wait

**i still no own. you still no sue.**

**Inuyasha and gang (C) Rumiko Takahashi**

* * *

The three days before the new moon passed swiftly. Sesshoumaru trained his little brother more in the use of the Fang, both of them noting that Inuyasha was still able to hold the sword without being burned, even as a full youkai. Sesshoumaru tried, out of curiosity and still got zapped [a/n: ha! curiosity killed the _dog_!, which came as no real surprise to the taiyoukai. After all, Inutaisho made the Tessaiga for Inuyasha alone.

They made frequent trips to the small town and the leather worker's and tailor's shops within, as well as several other stores and vendors along the way. Sesshoumaru quickly discovered that his brother was a voracious eater and particularly fond of sweets and soups. He had to drag Inuyasha away from street-side stalls more than once, although the taiyoukai was pleased to note that his earlier fears were pointless; Inuyasha never wasted food by spilling it on himself.

Inuyasha's shoes were completed on the first day, just as the leather worker promised, and the Lord of the West spent the day teaching Inuyasha how to run, walk and be silent in his new foot coverings.

Inuyasha, for the most part, spent the day grumbling and hopping from foot to foot in irritation, for he was anything but used to having his feet restricted. However, when Sesshoumaru showed Inuyasha just how fast he could go without worrying about where he was stepping, the younger inu sibling quieted some.

During one of these stealth sessions, Inuyasha lost his control again, and Sesshoumaru and Kagome, having realized they'd never explained the situation, were forced to calm the raging demon and then explain Kagome's hypothesis. After learning a few meditative techniques from Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha spent the rest of the first day thinking.

The dawn of the second day brought with it a murky purple color that changed quickly into rainy clouds. Yet, despite the weather, all three of the party were up in time to catch a quick breakfast before heading over to Yamanaka's store to oversee the last few adjustments on the armor commissioned for Inuyasha. When it was completed, Sesshoumaru had Shindou wrap the breastplate in a cheep, inexpensive cloth and held on to it, not allowing Inuyasha to lay so much as a claw tip to it.

This prompted another outburst on Inuyasha's part, but amazingly, he was able to calm himself down after a few minutes.

As they came back to the shrine for the night, Inuyasha couldn't help feeling a small amount of trepidation. Something was up, he knew it. And as a result, he spent the night turning over and over on his futon, trying to ease his worries enough to slip into slumber.

* * *

**i know no matter what i say, i will have lost some readers, just because i took so long getting this up. i truly appologize. **

**the next chapter is a little shorter (only by a page) because that was only the real place to stop it. a chapter after this, _CotH_ will have reached 40 pages. which is a lot. especially for me.**

**i do need some help from you guys, though. i'm having a delema. see, i'm not sure how to get inu and kag together. so, here's your options:**

**A) Inu becomes an outcast again (own free will) and marries kag.**

**B) Kag becomes a hanyou (dont ask, idk how i'd pull that off, but i _know_ it wont be cheesy)**

**C) Kag becomes a hanyou but something happens and she stays with Kouga**

**D) Kag stays human but they go to her time, Inu gets a job and they make lots of babys with a dog. well, maybe not a dog... ('NO! bad Fido! Sit/inuyasha goes thud/)**

**part II- if kag does become a hanyou should she be...**

**X) dog**

**Y) cat (just for the comidic value...)**

**Z) wolf**


	6. Woof Woof

**yeah... so SO sorry about the wait. i couldn't remember how i had planned to end this. it just _wouldn't_ come. so yeah, it's a page short. but i think i've got writer's block or somthing. anyway, the poll from the last chapter is still up... (for those of you who dont bother checking back when i update the story.)**

**if you haven't already, be aware that you should go back a chapter because i replaced the 'author note' chapter with an actuall chapter, short though it is. it's meant to be a transition between the major parts of the story.**

**anyway, enjoy!**

**Inuyasha and all associated characters (C) Rumiko Takahashi.**

_

* * *

Tonight, tonight it all ends. And tonight it all begins,_ Sesshoumaru pondered, staring out into the forest around the shrine. He was seated outside on the walkway surrounding the temple in the early morning. The miko, his brother, and the monk and the demon slayer were all slumbering peacefully inside. Not even the sun had risen yet, and the dew was coalescing on the grass blades as little globular warriors, massing towards an offensive against the day star that they couldn't hope to win.

It was so peaceful without other beings. No one to question him or talk to him. Just himself, his thoughts and the gentle stirring of the breezes.

But this, too, must change. He had to get his brother up, for today, at midday as the tailor said, the koinu's kimono was done. He would have to give his brother his armor too, although he wasn't sure the pup knew exactly what he was being given. Oh, well; he'd learn in due time.

Then there was the matter of the boy's hair. He would also have to bathe well and in the proper scents. And all this must be done at the castle, which would be the cause of several lost hours as Inuyasha and his miko spent as much of their free time exploring as they could. Which meant that, if he really wanted to get anything done today at all, not to mention before the ceremony, he would have to get Inuyasha up _now_. Which the pup would **not** like.

Sighing softly, the taiyoukai got up and padded into the shine and through the main assembly area. He passed with confidence through the pitch black halls, finding his way to his brother's room swiftly and surely.

The pup was sleeping on a futon, wonder of all wonders, and quite deeply, too. _He must have finally worn himself out._ Oh, yes, Sesshoumaru was completely aware of his brother's restlessness the night prior.

He knelt quickly to the red-clad figure's side and stretched out a hand, then paused. A wicked though had crossed his mind. The taiyoukai's lip twitched. Oooooh, he _**really**_ shouldn't. The pup would be furious with him. He really, _really_, _**really**_, _**REALLY**_ shouldn't. His lip twitched again. But it would be _so_ funny… Sesshoumaru frowned. And he really did deserve it, for all those times the brat had ruined his kimono. His mind made up, the taiyoukai got up as swiftly and silently as he came and made his way back out.

He paused silently outside of the miko's room, pondering. There was the very real possibility that she would rush out in a panic and give him a generally bothersome headache if he were to follow through with his plan. But of course, if he let her in on said plan she would probably frown at him disapprovingly. She was 'mature' after all.

The taiyoukai blinked. Thinking of which, when had he become so 'immature'? He sighed; it was probably his subconscious' way of making up for the last 200 years or so that he hadn't got to spend with his little brother. Which in no way meant that he wasn't going to go through with it.

Smiling a deviously evil little smile, the taiyoukai entered the miko's room, woke her up gently, and bid her to follow. She opened her mouth but he hushed her with a gesture. It wouldn't do for his prey to awaken early.

He waited as she put on a yakuta and those strange shoes that she was always wearing. Strange, but quick and effective.

Nodding, he lead her outside and through the forest to the edge of a slow-moving river and, having grabbed a pail from inside the shrine, scooped up a decent quantity of the chilled water. He turned around to Kagome and smiled ever so slightly. Her shoes were slightly muddy from the soft ground of the river bank, and her yakuta was a deep sea-green in the pre-dawn light. Yet, the strange miko held an elegant, sure air about herself that reminded the taiyoukai of younger years. She would have made an admirable noble.

He sneered, unlike those fools. But today would change them, he would see to that. Those silly laws they enacted and enforced, only to fulfill their own selfish desire to be 'pure'. This day would see a new dawn. And if dusk of an era required that blood be shed, well, some days the sun dawned red.

She brought him out of his musings with a yawn and a bleary blink. Shaking his head to remove the last ponderings, the taiyoukai once again bid his brother's miko to follow. They retraced the path back through the forest to the shrine, the raven head bowed sleepily to follow the footsteps of the silver headed demon. It wasn't until they were paused outside his brother's quarters that the miko finally started coming awake.

Setting the pail down without a sound, the taiyoukai put an ear to his brother's door and listened carefully.

He heard some sleep-noises and rustling but no indication that his brother was conscious. Carefully, oh-so, carefully, did Sesshoumaru open the shoji screen to his brother's room. He picked up the pail, bid the miko to wait (who then sighed quietly and rolled her eyes), and then tip-toed ever so quietly into the room. He paused at the head of his brother's futon, snickered, then up-ended the pail and it's ice-cold contents.

"AURGH!" the inu youkai was on his feet in seconds, ready to behead whoever had disturbed his sleep and then stopped dead in his tracks. Sesshoumaru tried so hard to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching and almost succeeded too, but the fish he had un-intentionally caught in his bucket chose that time to flop on top of Inuyasha's head and slide down into his haori, inciting a freakish hop-hop dance to get the thing out.

Even Kagome cracked a smile at that.

When all were calm (and dry) again, Sesshoumaru told Inuyasha something he should have told him three days ago.

"Inuyasha," the taiyoukai began, setting aside his chopsticks from the wonderful fish meal he had just partaken of, "due to your new status, you and Kagome…"

"Mmmmhpf?" the youkai inquired through several ounces of rice.

The elder tried again, "Inu clan laws…"

"What he's trying to say, Inuyasha," the miko interrupted quietly, "is that we can't be together."

Inuyasha choked.

"Due to certain Inu societal laws, inu youkai are forbidden to mate with humans," Sesshoumaru concluded.

"What?!" Inuyasha exclaimed, "You mean I went through all this crap, just to learn that I cant…!?" he trailed off, hopelessly.

All the taiyoukai could do was nod. His jaw contacted squarely with Inuyasha's fist.

"You mean to tell me," the youkai started, his eyes flashing red, "that you didn't share this _before_ I made the wish on the Tama?"

"I was not allowed, Inuyasha." His brother implored, gently massaging the bruise he could feel forming, "Speaking of these laws to those exiled is one of Inu societies greatest offenses. I would have been stripped of my title and hunted until they killed me."

"YOU STILL SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME!" now furious, there was no avoiding his brother's transformation. Eyes now a solid red, his markings expanded and he pounced on his brother, claws bared. Sesshoumaru was only glad they were outside, having wanted to enjoy the sunrise with their breakfast, as he missed any furniture or doors as they went sailing through the air.

Seconds after they hit the ground, Inuyasha pulled them to their feet, his claws catching his brother across the cheek and down the chest. Sesshoumaru grunted, lashing out with a fist that missed it's mark, and managing to dodge the next two swipes of his brother's claws by an inch and a lucky twist of fate that sent him stumbling backwards.

Growling loudly, Inuyasha kept at his brother as his fangs and claws continued to grow. He managed to get a nip at one of his brother's forearms before they both managed to grab on to each other and started to sharpen their claws on their respective brother's hide. Snarls, yips, growls and barks filled the air as the two went at it, teeth bared. Finally, both skidded back, Sesshoumaru's white kimono in tatters, his right arm useless, Inuyasha bleeding from a particularly nasty gash on his thigh, a few solid blows to his abdomen and a hearty scratch across his left eye.

Apparently this wasn't enough for the youkai in his new state, as he snarled again, spittle dribbling down his chin, and began to glow. Seeing his brother enveloped in a white light, Sesshoumaru started to panic. There was no way his brother was old enough for _that_ particular feat. But it seemed he was, as the white silhouette transformed into a much larger silhouette. _**Much**_ larger.

Panic increasing, Sesshoumaru did the only thing he knew how; he transformed himself. By the time he had recovered from the slightly dizzying effects of the transformation, Inuyasha was just starting to react to them. Feeling the need for much distance and time, he grabbed Inuyasha around the scruff with his teeth and flung him further away from the temple, bounding quickly after.

As he watched Inuyasha shake off the throw and the after effects of transforming, he examined his brother. The markings were there, same as his humanoid form. He was slightly smaller than the taiyoukai, probably due to the fact he was still an adolescent, not quite having reached the five hundred years necessary. As such, he lacked the plumage of an adult, his fur slightly softer; he looked much like a pup, and yet he appeared older than he was.

_Hm, _Sesshoumaru thought, _probably a result of his human blood. He matured faster when he was hanyou._

Brought out of his musings, the taiyoukai was just able to dodge a snap of his sibling's jaws. He growled; if the damn puppy had let him finish, he would know that all wasn't lost!

_Inuyasha!_ he barked, hoping that his brother wasn't so far gone as to not hear his mental cry.

Dodging another bite, he tried again, _listen to me, you stupid youkai!_

_Great way to get me to listen to you, asshole! Insult my intelligence!_

Sesshoumaru sighed in relief, _Baka. There _is_ a way out of this. Now there's enough of us that I can overturn the Shiyakusho's decisions regarding humans. You and the miko don't _have_ to be apart forever._

'What?' Inuyasha whined, pawing the ground in agitation. _Why didn't you say that!?_

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, fighting off a headache. _You. Didn't. Let. Me._

Inuyasha sat down on his haunches and blinked. _Oh. Yeah._

The taiyoukai sighed in agitation, _stupid little…_

_You say somethin'?_ Inuyasha demanded, growling slightly.

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and returned to his human form, heading back in to the temple, "Come, Inuyasha; there are several things you must know before tonight."

The young dog demon stood up and followed his brother, tail swishing lazily back and forth as he shouldered his way through the tall trees. About five minutes of listening to branches crack and birds scatter made Sesshoumaru address the now-youkai, "Inuyasha, you draw too much attention in that form. Change back."

The taiyoukai could almost feel the heated glare he was certain was being directed at his back, _sure, I'll just do something I've never done before in my life without even knowing how I got here in the first place. What an amazing plan, Sesshoumaru. Why didn't I think of that?_

"Enough with the sarcasm, Inuyasha," the taiyoukai growled.

The dog demon stared at him as if to say, 'I wouldn't need sarcasm if you'd just tell me how!'

"It is… difficult to describe," the lord admitted. "It feels like a cross between swallowing an ocean and swallowing nails."

_Swallowing _nails

"Yes," fluffy sighed, trying to put into words something that was never meant to be spoken, "Sit down, Inuyasha."

The large dog looked at him skeptically before hurriedly sitting at his growl. He walked over to the white form, thinking back. All dog demons transform before they could talk, so he had to think back a long way, to when his father was trying to convince him to take human form.

He had been young by demon standards, a mere fifty years, and rash with more than a healthy dash of curiosity. It had taken the Great Dog Demon quite some time, and more than enough patience to get his son to sit still long enough to explain exactly how to transform back.

_"Now Sesshoumaru, the trick to getting your form back is-"_

"AH! Kouga! Not so fast, damnit! I can't keep up with you! KOUGA!"

A brown streak dashed into the relatively small clearing, followed later by a bright blue one. Sesshoumaru sighed; if it wasn't the wolf-brat.

The taiyoukai glanced imploringly at the heavens; would it be too much to ask for him to get through just _one_ important conversation with his brother before he was interrupted? He must be cursed or something. Or the gods hated him. That must be it. He must have stepped on a kami's tail somewhere recently.

Both blurs ran right at Inuyasha, who did a very good impression of a chicken, at his indignant squawk.

_Oi! Watch where you're going, dammit!_ the large puppy snarled.

Both blurs stopped suddenly, the wolf prince staring at him in shock as Shippou tried to scurry backwards from where he fell, "S-Sesshoumaru-!"

From where Sesshoumaru stood, carefully concealed behind Inuyasha's larger form, it was obvious that the kit was addressing Inuyasha's transformed state. The taiyoukai glanced at his brother; did they really look that alike?

"I-inu…yasha?!" the wolf looked as if he were about to faint in shock.

_Yeah, what of it, mangy wolf?_ Inuyasha growled, baring fangs.

"Inuyasha?! Where?!" the kit backed up, hiding himself behind the wolf's tail. The small fox who had recently stopped short of Kouga's knee, now reached the wolf's thigh.

_Right here, idiot!_ he shoved a large nose at the kit, which only frightened him further.

"Kouga! HELP!"

"Do not bother, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru finally said, emerging from behind his brother, "He cannot hear you."

"What-?"

_What?_

The wolf was the only one not surprised, "HA! You just gave me Kagome, dog breath! Your stupid kind and your stupid rules will never let you have Kagome as a full youkai! Even if you could get her to choose you over me, your own leaders wont let you!"

_Shut up! Even if I cant have Kagome, she'd never choose a mangy wolf like you!_

"We'll see about that, mutt!"

"If you are quite done, I have some business to attend to," the taiyoukai said in distain as he walked from the clearing.

He turned to look when he failed to detect the loud sound of cracking branches and disturbed birds, "Inuyasha."

The pup, who had been in a glaring match with the Prince of Wolves, turned at his brother's call and then proceeded to lope off after him at his summons, blowing a very ineffective raspberry at Kouga as he left.

He sniggered as he heard Shippou's startled exclamation behind him, "That's _Inuyasha?!_"

* * *

**yeah, like i said at the begining, dont know _exactly_ when i'll get the next one up, and i know that i'll probably loose readers over that. i honnestly dont care though. i like sharing this with you, but i'm not going to put out a POS just so you guys can have an update faster. there's a _REASON_ i'm going this slow. and it's not cause i'm sadistic. although i am.**


End file.
